Statement

Today such praise sounds servile, but it follows an old survival tactic, already visible in Deutero-Isaiah, which treats the Persian Cyrus as God's instrument. And there were practical motives: Rome offered roads and public works, relative peace, a developed law and guarantees for Jewish religion and rights, while defying it was extremely risky.

References

1. p. 92

   supports · main text · ch. 4

   Efron, Lehmann and Weitzman. The Jews: A History. 3rd edition. New York and Abingdon: Routledge, 2019.

   Verification anchor recorded · checked against the page text